Repairs roar on weeks after Terra Mar tornado

Though the tornado came and went in less than a minute, weeks later the nerve-grating din of chain saws carving up downed trees and the screech of circular saws slicing aluminum still dominate.

MARK I. JOHNSONSTAFF WRITER

Things have not quieted down in once-peaceful Terra Mar Village. It's still noisy, even nearly two months since a tornado rampaged through the mobile home community between Oak Hill and Edgewater, leaving behind 90 damaged residences — 40 with "major damage." And though the tornado came and went in less than a minute, these weeks later the nerve-grating din of chain saws carving up downed trees and the screech of circular saws slicing aluminum still dominate. "There is so much noise in the park," said resident Janet Lafond, "when it used to be so quiet." Then there is the almost $1.7 million in random destruction created by the estimated 110-mph winds generated out of the Dec. 10 storm. Leo Berner considers himself lucky. "I lost an awning," he said, standing in the driveway of his Cypress Street residence watching a tree trimming crew cut away the remains of the oak that lifted the corner of his neighbor's home. It's the same tree that flattened the carport and the car it covered, belonging to the lady two houses down. "It just so happens, the wind was blowing the other way." While there are signs of recovery, blue tarps still cover the missing roofs peeled away like tissue paper, and portable storage units hold some residents' belongings, illustrating just how far the path back to normalcy remains. A faded "unsafe for occupancy" notice is still visible on the front of Pat and Bob Ash's Pine Street residence. "We lost the whole roof. Just like that," said Pat Ash as she pointed to a folded-back section of aluminum that was once their neighbor's roof. But it is the 6-inch-long, 1-inch-around bit of tree limb she uses to illustrate the destructive forces of the early evening storm. "It went right through there," Pat Ash said, pointing to the caulked-filled hole at the base of their aluminum tool shed. "A bit was sticking out from this side and a bit from that." The Ashes have had a roof over their heads since the Dec. 10 storm thanks to Janet Lafond. The couple have been living in the Lafonds' Dolphin Way home, which, like more than half of park residences, had minimal or no storm damage. Such neighbor-helping-neighbor generosity has been the greatest constant since the tornado swept through this community of mostly retired or senior citizens. "There has been a tremendous outpouring of support," Lafond said. "It was heartwarming." And it didn't just come from within, although there was a lot of that. "Two residents in their 80s couldn't do anything else so they filled the back of their car with food and drove it around the neighborhood to people who could not get out," she said. "I met people I had never met before." Pine Street resident Phil Getz said he was amazed by the support that came from not only civil services and church groups, but also members of Southeast Volusia's business community, bringing items such as tarps, buckets and garbage bags to make the neighborhood livable. "They didn't have to do that, but they did," he said. There were also offers of monetary support from other area manufactured home developments, said Carol Vernam, the wife of Terra Mar Homeowner's Association president Greg Vernam. She said there are discussions among such developments to organize a disaster survival support network that can come to each other's aid for such occurrences in the future. Residents also joined forces for the cleanup, donating scrap aluminum from their homes to a fund used to hire a crew to pick up much of the debris. "If we had not done that, it would have been up to each of the property owners to pay for it individually," Carol Vernam said. Community manager Diane Husmann said she is still receiving offers of assistance, including one recently from a New York resident who went through Superstorm Sandy. Husmann said while there are residents who have left the community since the storm, many are still assessing their options. "We had one who said they did not want to go through it again," she said. "Another is staying with their daughter in Port Orange." Bob Ash said he had the option of having his home pulled out and starting anew, but it was cheaper just to repair what was left. Indian River Road resident Bob Tellier wasn't sure if he would be able to replace the screen porch ripped away by the storm, initially believing his insurance would not cover such a structure. But then his insurance company came up with enough money to fix the other damage to his trailer and the extra repairs. Other residents raised questions about delays in securing the permits needed to make those repairs. However, Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron dismissed such criticism, saying the county has not only expedited permits but has waived the variance process property owners with non-conforming lots must go through before repairs can be made. "That saves them almost $1,000," he said. In addition, Byron said, if property owners have all their needed paperwork, the county is turning permit applications within three days. Making sure an owner has all the required plans and drawings has slowed some repairs, according to Tom Donatti, a contractor whose crews are working on 10 of the damaged residences to the tune of $200,000. He said in many cases, repairs must be made to current building codes and that requires a set of engineering drawings. "That can take five to seven business days," he said. Touring their neighborhood, Lafond and Vernam suspect it will be several more months before things get back to normal for some of their fellow Terra Mar Village occupants, if ever. "There are those of us," Lafond said, "who did not lose our homes, who almost feel guilty."